[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 123 (Friday, August 12, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1520]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING SANDY COVALL-ALVES OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 12, 2011

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, together with 
my colleague, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, to recognize Sandy Covall-
Alves, who is retiring after three decades in the emergency management 
field. Throughout her 30 years of service, including 16 as Emergency 
Manager for Sonoma County's Fire and Emergency Services Department and 
the Sonoma County Operational Area, she dedicated herself to making 
sure that people in her charge were safe and received the resources 
they needed in the wake of natural disasters.
  During her tenure in Sonoma County, Ms. Covall-Alves coordinated the 
response, recovery and mitigation efforts for the 1995-1999 and 2006 
winter storms and floods, the 1996 Cavedale fire and the 1998 Rio Nido 
debris flow. In total, she oversaw the implementation of 14 local 
emergency proclamations, 12 Emergency Operations Center activations, 8 
gubernatorial proclamations and 6 events that were designated by the 
President to be national disasters.
  Ms. Covall-Alves was also the guiding force in establishing, 
implementing and coordinating emergency programs for the country, its 
cities and special districts. Her commitment to improving emergency 
management did not stop at the county line. She is a founding member 
and current Chair of the California Operational Area Coalition (COAC), 
a forum for information exchange and advocacy on emergency management 
issues. The coalition's mission is to enhance closer cooperation and 
collaboration with its members and with the State Emergency Management 
Agency.
  Ms. Covall-Alves began her career in emergency management as a 9-1-1 
dispatcher for the Tuolumne County Sheriffs Department. After 
developing disaster recovery plans for private businesses, she returned 
to public service with the San Mateo County Office of Emergency 
Services and from there was deployed to the 1994 Northridge earthquake 
in Southern California as part of the state's mutual aid program. She 
joined the Sonoma County Office of Emergency Services in 1995 and 
quickly became an integral part of the county's response and recovery 
team. Our offices appreciated working with her, knowing that she was 
the consummate professional who could use all of her connections to 
develop a coordinated response.
  Mr. Speaker, Sandy Covall-Alves has had a long and distinguished 
career in serving and protecting the people of the State of California. 
We wish her well in her retirement as she enjoys time with her husband, 
Ron Alves, and their three special pets, Beesley, Mowse and Wilson.